Add: 'Minimal Gnome' setup > Added 'dconf-editor' package
Change: 'Minimal Plasma/Gnome' setups > Edit '/etc/udisks2/mount_options.conf' > 'udisk2' will use the older 'ntfs-3g' driver instead of the 'ntfs3' one
because of a mounting issue/regression, and only include 'windows_names' in the NTFS default mount options.
Change: A few changes have been made to 'mkinitcpiod.conf' drop-in file, on how/which graphics modules is loading,
since 'kms' hook automates a lot of this process.
where now the installer shows the pc-system vendor, model, platform {desktop/laptop/vm} and cpu microcode to be installed
Add: Ext4 filesystem speedup by setting the 'fast_commit' option as default
Change: 'Minimal Plasma/Gnome' Setups > Minor changes in configuration, renaming of a few folders, minor code improvements
Change: Enable 'ParallelDownloads = 5' in /etc/pacman.conf
Change: A few variables have been renamed (better description)
Change: Some prompts have been edited for better visuals/aesthetics
Change: Add a few extra informational prompts at 'Sanity Check' stage
Change: When selecting 'linux-hardened' kernel, a warning prompt notifies that 'System Hibernation' is not supported by kernel
Change: Edit prompts for enhanced visuals/aesthetics
Change: Secure Boot support (both 'systemd-boot' and 'Grub')
The installer will check if the firmware platform (Secure Boot) is in 'SETUP' mode and warn & exit if not
Remove: Since the latest 'nvidia-utils' package now enables by default the following: "PreserveVideoMemoryAllocations, TemporaryFilePath, modeset & fbdev kernel parameters" & "resume-hibernate-suspend services", the code enabling these has been removed from the installer, as obsolete
Change: Many prompts now have defaults pre-set [Y/N], to reduce user's input
Add: When running in a VM (but not in 'Auto-Guided' mode), new prompts will inform you when skipping unnecessary stages of the installation
Change: If Dual/Multi-booting with other OS's : If 'systemd-boot' is selected & the ESP mountpoint is set to '/efi' & the ESP is less than 200Mb, the installer will expect the creation an 'Extended Boot Partition (XBOOTLDR)' and will drop to 'Manual Partitioning' mode to do so.
Change: Optimized code in the 'sanity_check' & 'revise' functions
Add: Optimize/add 'zram' configuration for enhanced performance in VMs
Change: Nice visual additions for a better aesthetic experience
Indentation
Change: Running 'pacstrap' now ommits the '-i' flag, to speed up the whole process
Change: 'Automatic Partitioning' stage has been revised to ommit an unnecessary repeat of the 'Sanity Check' stage
Change: Now, when the Installer aborts, it automatically unmounts all/any mounted partitions, for convenience
Remove: 'vorbisgain' package has been removed from the 'Minimal Plasma' setup, in compliance with Arch's repos
Change: 'LDFLAGS' & 'RUSTFLAGS' configuration has been removed from the 'makepkgd.conf' drop-in configuration file at /etc/makepkg.conf.d/
Change: A few Prompts have been edited, to provide better aesthetics
Change: Some minor indentation
Change: Bootloader configuration (btldr_conf) function revised to comply with latest installer changes
Add: Edited a few prompts for visual/aesthetic purposes
Change: There are 4 Partitioning Layout Presets now, to make the selection easier (man_preset function)
Change: 'Sanity Check' stage has been revised to allow 'systemd-boot' to be installed on an ESP mounted to '/efi' without the need for an 'XBOOTLDR' partition to be present
Change: 'Sanity Check' stage has been revised to being more informative to the user and perform more necessary actions to solve partitioning issues
Change: 'Sanity Check' stage now informs when there is need for an Extended Boot Partition (XBOOTLDR) when dual/multibooting
Change: Bootloader configuration (btldr_conf function) revised its logic to allow 'systemd-boot' to install to '/efi' without an 'XBOOTLDR' partition when there is dual/multiboot and 'ESP' size is more than 200Mb
Change: 'sgdisk' now uses the -I (--align-end) flag when creating partitions, needed when setting 'LUKS' encryption on volumes
Change: Chrooting and setting the 'base' system now resides in a seperate function (main_chroot), to avoid code repetition
Change: Setting final variables now resides in a seperate function (set_vars)
Change: Custom Plasma & custom Gnome setups have been renamed to 'Minimal Plasma & Minimal Gnome' and now support selecting one of the available bootloaders
Change: 'lsblk' now uses a simpler syntax for detecting filesystems on volume
Remove: 'xsane' package has been removed from Plasma Minimal setup
Change: Now 'grub' configuration takes place in /etc/default/grub.d/00-custom.cfg file, as a drop-in file
Change: Now the installer opens 'Automatic Partitioning' prompt by default If 'Sanity Check' succeeds and 'Multibooting' is 'n' > Continue with current disk partition layout > 'n'
Fix: A bug has been fixed that would reset 'mkinitcpio hooks' to 'empty', when inside a 'VM' environment and the user has been revising the installation
Minor indentation and visual changes
Change: All 'Warning/Error' prompts have been replaced by new, more easily descriptive and good looking ones
Remove: Unnecessary stages (e.g selecting Graphics Driver while inside a VM) are now gracefully omitted instead of being executed but auto by-passed
Change: A few prompts have been edited for aesthetic purposes
Add: Now the installer lets you select the mountpoint of choice for the ESP (/efi or /boot)
Add: Now the installer asks if you're dual/multi-booting with other OS's and will not touch the ESP or any other partition, all actions will take place manually using 'cgdisk'
Add: 'Sanity Check' stage has been greatly upgraded: If Dual/Multi-booting: After checking the ESP size > If the ESP size is too small, the installer will take a wide range of actions and guide you to resolve the issue by selecting '/efi' as a mountpoint or if using systemd-boot, to select '/efi' as mountpoint and to create an 'XBOOTLDR' partition. All these take place automatically and the stages involved are 'Auto-Guided'
Change: Virtual Machine detection now resides in a different code block from before, simplifying the installation process
Change: New 'Partitioning Presets' are offered at the 'Preset selection' stage, to cover the extended range of choices the installer offers
Change: Now the 'Sanity Check' stage presents you with the partitions overview instead of filesystem overview
Change: Now the installer uses a 'Press any key to continue' prompt instead of the previous 'time countdown' method, to ensure the user has read all the info in some important prompts
Change: Some variables have been renamed (more descriptive)
Change: Some stages are now omitted if the user decides to 'Revise' the installation, since they are already completed
Change: 'LUKS ecryption' > Formatting partitions > the installer no longer aborts on error, but re-runs the stage
Change: The main/basic 'chroot' function now lives in its own code block
Change: 'irqbalance' package and its service activation have been removed from the custom Plasma & Gnome setups
Add: 'Custom Setup' > Add Packages : Added auto-configuration for 'lightdm' if the 'Lightdm GTK/Slick/Deepin Greeter' has been selected
Remove: Do not reload the 'Partition Manager' stage after auto-unmounting filesystems and switching to 'Manual Mode' (if formatting or mounting errors have occured)
Change: Put code blocks into functions and re-arrange code, for script simplification
Change: A few prompts have been edited for aesthetic purposes
